Here’s hoping a Canadian broadcaster picks this up, or we’ll have to go online

Do you love Sci-fi??? Me too! You may want to check out the trailer below, and catch this new TV series on the Sy-fy channel coming out Friday Jan-10-2014 at 10:00pm. Scripted by Ron Moore of Battlestar Galactica, and produced by the people behind Lost and X-Files.

Sy-fy describes it as “an intense thriller” about a team of scientists from the Center for Disease Control. After being sent to the Arctic to investigate a possible disease outbreak, they soon become entangled in a far more apocalyptic affair, facing “a terrifying life-and-death struggle that holds the key to mankind’s salvation or total annihilation.”

Japanese fans will know of Hiroyuki Sanada, who will be one of the stars. He’s in charge of the top-secret research.

Zombie fans! Casual gamers! Do you have an iPhone or iPad, or Xbox Live? For a limited time only, the award-winning and critically-acclaimed “Walking Dead – The Game” by Telltale Games, based on the smash hit TV series is FREE! (Episode 1 only) Download it now before it’s too late!! (works best on iPad2 or better)

IGN explains the uniqueness of the gameplay:

“As you play through [the episode], the big moments come when you choose how Lee [the protagonist] responds to situations and what he says in conversations with his fellow survivors. Choices and dialogue pop up on screen with timers, and you have seconds to pick exactly what you’re going to do or say. Whereas previous adventure games from developer Telltale Games would let you run through every possible line of dialogue, that isn’t the case here. In The Walking Dead, you choose, and the game moves on – adapting its story to each decision.”

In the end, IGN gives it a 9.3/10.

“The Walking Dead: The Game is something special. By giving players the option to craft relationships and make choices that fill out the story, The Walking Dead wraps you up in its events and makes you care in a way few video games can.”

This year was Street Fighter’s 25th anniversary, next year is Mega Man’s 25th anniversary. And something nice had to be done. The game’s development was spearheaded by Capcom super-fan Seow “Sonic” Zong Hui. Capcom was so impressed by him that they decided to publish it (but for free)!

Nintendo’s 6th generation console system, the Wii U was released today, November 18, 2012. Although the jury’s still out on the Wii U, early reviews have been positive! The system’s tablet controller is going to be the main feature that every kid and mom will be drawn to. You will be very lucky to find any supply anytime soon, unless you preordered.

Here is a list of first impressions by the early adopters that waited in line or preordered:

The GamePad feels awesome! It’s light, ergonomic, comfortable, and not as heavy as an iPad.

Gamers are already enjoying the added map and inventory views you get on the GamePad in single-player games. It frees up TV screen real estate, and no more need to pause to bring up your secondary screen, cuz it’s right there.

The charge cord for the GamePad and Pro Controller are 8-feet long (and you can play while you charge it (battery charge is 3-5 hours).

The HD graphics in Nintendo Land and New Super Mario Bros U are simply beautiful (this is Nintendo’s first HD-capable console in the company’s history).

Gamers were able to play certain games on the GamePad even after they turned their TV off, or when someone wanted to watch some TV – games such as Madden NFL 13, Call of Duty: Black Ops II and New Super Mario Bros. U. And since the GamePad is wireless and has a range of 26 feet, depending on your walls, you can keep playing in your bedroom, washroom, etc.

With a system update, the Wii U is backward compatible with the Wii (but not Gamecube games). You can also transfer Wii data to the Wii U.

The GamePad’s resolution is not HD (so not better than iPad), but the graphics still holds its own. And this pad has controller sticks (so better than iPad!)

There is no built-in system-wide achievement or aggregate scoring system.

A nice editorial of why it was made, and Nintendo’s philosophy on the Wii U:

The Wii U is the right console for this moment in history. Regardless of its future, the Wii U feels like a machine of the moment… The Wii U is for a new way we live. It’s for the era of four people going to dinner, theoretically being together, but all also being off in their own worlds via the cell phones that they keep checking… Look at New Super Mario Bros. U: four people are looking at the TV, running across a sidescrolling landscape using Wii Remotes held sideways. They are jumping on platforms and crushing enemies. They are four people at a dinner party talking about the same thing. The fifth player is on the GamePad. They control no characters. They press no buttons. They just watch the same game world scroll by and tap the screen to create blocks that catch any TV players who are falling and that make staircases for any of those TV players who need a leg up. The GamePad player is at the same dinner party, but they’re not really listening. They’re on their cell phone. This is our world right now. The Wii U is a perfect video game console realization of that. Its timeliness is exciting.

Only a month away from the exciting release of Nintendo’s next gaming console. Los Angeles Times writer, Todd Martens has some interesting views of the new Wii U when he tried it out at the recent Wii U press event at the W Hotel in Hollywood on Oct. 16, 2012.

You can tell from reading the article that the main draw of the new Nintendo system will be the tablet game controller and that many families will buy this system because of the currently trending popularity of tablets that the iPad originally had started.

For the casual crowd who want to know what else the Wii U can do other than gaming:

…It was the system’s TVii feature that looked to be one of its more promising aspects. If done right, the TVii can become a one-stop shop for all TV viewing needs. On-demand services such as Netflix, Hulu and Amazon are placed side-by-side with network schedules, allowing users at once to see all that is available for viewing or purchase… For sports fans, the TVii looks to be rather addictive, with previews showing the GamePad as being able to provide in-game statistics, digitally simulcast games and host all sorts of other goodies for those with short-attention spans.

An example of an interesting use of the tablet on the Wii U:

The GamePad goes a long way toward providing [an] immersive experience. Flip on its flashlight and do a 360 on your couch and the GamePad screen allows you to see more of the environment than what’s on the TV screen. Intriguing also is the social aspect — friends who are completing their own missions on their own consoles can leave in-game messages for you to find, a la “Dark Souls.”

Maybe Sony and Microsoft will soon jump the bandwagon:

When playing with a friend locally, the GamePad is a vital tool – clunky split-screens become a thing of the past; I found I’d much rather view the action on the GamePad than the large flat-screen TV in front of me. Maybe that says a lot about the strength of the GamePad’s slick 6.2″ LCD touch screen, or perhaps it’s a simple acknowledgement that smart phones and tablets are transitioning the living room of the future into a place populated with multiple, more intimate screens.

Will you be buying the Wii U at launch? Are you the wait-and-see type? As for me, I’ve long been a Nintendo fan since the NES days, so I’ve already pre-ordered the black bundle! How ’bout you?

So who’s going to see Steven Spielberg’s next big movie “Lincoln”? And no, this is not the poorly-rated vampire hunter Lincoln movie.

This biopic of Abraham Lincoln focuses on the last four months of Lincoln’s life, as he fights to amend the constitution to outlaw slavery, while also seeking peace with the Confederates in the Civil War. It was recently shown in a secret screening at the New York Film Festival (cell phones, iPads and even Kindles were not allowed), and will officially release Nov. 16, but those who made it into the screening were under oath not to review the film yet. Ohhh, the secrecy!

Apparently, the film has already been billed a sure shot for Academy Award nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor (Daniel Day Lewis) – they are expecting a total of 12 nominations. Listen for Oscar-winning composer John Williams (a la Star Wars / Indiana Jones) as he teams yet again with Spielberg.

Wow, just wow… The team that brought you Heavy Rain (developer Quantic Dream, who brought you the eye-popping demo: KARA, that I blogged about a while ago), brings this new PS3 exclusive game starring Oscar-nominated Ellen Page (of Inception and Juno).

The game is centered around questions about what happens after death. It lets the player take Jodie Holmes through 15 years of her life on a journey to discover what is the true meaning of a ghost-like entity that’s alongside her throughout the story.

This supernatural element will empower Jodie with various abilties. The video shows that these abilities could include possession, the ability to light people in a mystical fire and some kind of protective shield.

The game features a dark graphical style, similar feel to Heavy Rain.

Heavy Rain was awesome, Quantic Dream is awesome. All signs point to the fact that Beyond will be an improvement of Heavy Rain. I can’t wait for this game to come out!